All Bets Are Off
by Copper's Mama
Summary: Chance/Katherine fic. Seven years is a long time to stay in hiding, but some people are worth coming back for. Please read and review!


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_A Chance/Katherine fic. _

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_Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Human Target. _

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_A/N: So, I have this rule about TV deaths: if you don't actually see the person die, more often than not, they really didn't die. When the boat blew up in the season one finale, you didn't ACTUALLY see Katherine sitting in the boat ... so, I've decided that she's not really dead. In my own little world, the previous Christopher Chance got to her before Baptiste blew the boat up, and told her to run and never look back, convinced her that 'Junior' was in over his head. _

_Now, seven years later, she comes back to find him. _

_I hope you guys like this one, I know I'll love writing it. _

_As always, please read and review, I live for feedback! _

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Katherine Walters stared at the building in front of her, thinking of the last time she'd been there. She hadn't been 'Katherine Walters' in seven years, but being back in this city, in front of the place that had changed so much for her ... she had to stop and take a breath, or two.

He was in there ... waiting for her. Only, he didn't know that's what he was waiting for. For him, it was just another day at the office. How could he possibly know that he was about to get the shock of his life? She'd thought him so many times over the years ... wanting to call him, write to him, let him know somehow that she was alive and safe. But, she couldn't. The other one, he'd told her it wasn't safe ... and for so long, she'd believed him. She'd let her fears override her instincts, and she'd hidden away from the world. Until now ...

A friend of hers had told her about this woman, Ilsa Pucci - widow of Marshall Pucci, one of the world's greatest philanthropists. This woman, who was currently financing a company in San Francisco, where a man would literally put his life on the line to save others from a terrible fate. The second she'd heard that, she'd know it was him. She'd know that he'd survived, that he'd gotten his life back ... and she knew what he must think of her.

Well ... what he would think of her, when she stepped into that office. Her whole family had thought she was dead - it was safer for them, that way. If the people who'd wanted her dead found out that she was alive, they would use her family to get to her. She'd thought that they couldn't be protected, that _she_ couldn't be protected. She was wrong.

And so, here she was. So close, yet so very far away. What if he was mad? Screw mad, what if he was off-the-rails furious? Or worse ... what if he just didn't care?

Katherine shook that thought out of her head, telling herself that she wasn't here to fall into his arms and fade out into the sunset. Sure ... they'd kissed. But, that had been an intense situation. She couldn't delude herself into thinking that he still harbored feelings for her after _seven_ years. Steeling herself, Katherine made her way into the building, maneuvered her way to the elevator, and selected the floor that she knew she needed.

She'd never quite hated elevator music as much as she did in that moment, but somehow she got through it.

The elevator came to a stop, and Katherine took a deep sigh, waiting for the steel doors to open. _No going back now,_ she told herself.

As she stepped through the open doors of the elevator, her first thought was, '_What happened here?'_. The decor was nowhere near what it had been seven years ago. She supposed she shouldn't be so surprised. Nearly a decade had passed since she'd been there last. God, she felt old.

She took a few more steps into the room, glancing all around. No sign of him, yet.

A tall, dark-skinned woman in an expensive looking outfit came walking towards her, heels clicking on the floor beneath her feet. "Hello? I'm Ilsa Pucci, is there something I can assist you with?"

Katherine held out her hand for the other woman to shake. "I'm Katherine," she introduced herself. "I'm actually looking for someone who works here." She'd heard his name was Christopher Chance, but she wasn't entirely sure. That had been _his_ name, the one who'd told her to run. Katherine realized that she didn't even know his name, and she'd came halfway around the world just to see him again.

"Ahh," Mrs. Pucci said in understanding, looking the woman over. "Are you looking for Mr. Chance, or Mr. Winston? Or, are you here to enlist our services? If you like, we can sit down in my office."

Katherine fiddled with her hands by her sides, glancing around the large office. "Well, actually ..." She was saved from answering by the sound of a might bark. Her eyes widened with glee as the large dog came barreling down the stairs towards her.

"Good lord!" Mrs. Pucci gasped, stepping sideways to avoid the excited creature.

"Carmine!" Katherine exclaimed, dropping down to her knees to envelope her old dog with both arms. He licked her neck and cheek happily, sniffing her all over, his short tail waggling ecstatically. "Oh my, you've gotten so big!" she cried out happily, giving him hearty scratches and pats.

Mrs. Pucci cleared her throat stiffly, glancing down at the two. "You two are already acquainted, I see."

Katherine might have stood up to explain, but another person followed the dog down the stairs. She was still slightly hidden behind Mrs. Pucci, playing with Carmine, but froze almost immediately when she heard his voice.

"What's all the fuss about?" he asked, his feet slapping the ground as he walked toward them.

Katherine gave Carmine one final head rub before she slowly stood up, coming into view.

The look on his face was everything she'd expected, and so much more. Shock, confusion, trepidation, relief, awe, and an excitement, all rolled into one speechless expression.

"I see it was Mr. Chance you were looking for, after all," Mrs. Pucci spoke after a long moment, glancing between the two. "I think I'll return to my office."

Katherine watched her leave, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she waited for him to say something. Carmine whined happily, his wet nose pressing into the palm of her hand repeatedly. The silence wore on and on, both of them just staring at one another, until finally she couldn't take it any longer. "So ... do you prefer Christopher, or Chris?"

He blinked several times, almost comically as he tried to make sure he was actually seeing her. "Katherine," he breathed out, shaking his head ever so slightly.

She nodded her head, feeling a light flutter run through her heart as he said her name. It felt so good to be called that again, especially by him. "It's me."

He took three steps forward, slowly, as though he were under some sort of spell that he desperately didn't want to break. When she didn't disappear, or move away, he brought a shaky hand up to her arm. His fingers lightly touched the bare skin under the sleeve of her shirt, the static electricity in the air causing a spark to emerge at the contact.

Katherine jumped lightly at the sensation, her eyelids falling closed. In the short second that her eyes were shut, he closed the distance between them, pulling her swiftly into his arms.

"You're alive," he stated dumbly, his body in shock.

Katherine could only nod into his shoulder, bringing her arms up to wrap around his own back in response. It was a far better greeting than she could have hoped for.

"I thought ..." he began, not letting her go. "You weren't on the boat?"

"I wasn't on the boat," she assured him, her own fingers scrunching the fabric of his shirt. She felt a wetness begin to seep into the back of her own shirt, and knew that tears were falling down his face. Katherine pulled back from him with effort, moving her hands from his back to cup his face in her hands. The sight of his red, watery eyes was almost too much for her to take. "I'm so sorry," she told him earnestly.

"No," he replied, shaking his head. "No, you don't have a thing to be sorry for. You're alive ... that's all that matters."

"But I didn't tell you," she argued, feeling so guilty. "I should have told you."

"That doesn't matter," he pushed back, his hands rubbing along her sides, almost as though he were afraid to let go of her. "You can explain it all later, I'm sure you had your reasons."

Katherine moved her thumbs along the curve of his cheekbones, unable to believe the capacity for forgiveness that the man held. "You never answered my question," she told him after a long beat.

He stared at her for a moment in confusion, not understanding what she meant, but then it clicked. A small smile managed to sneak its way onto his face, and he blinked back his tears. "You can call me Christopher."

Katherine smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Christopher."

He chuckled at that, dipping his head down as he pulled her closer. His forehead rested against hers, staring into her love-filled orbs, wanting to spend the rest of his life soaking in the sight of her. "Nice to meet you ... Katherine."

She smiled back at that, feeling her own tears beginning to well in her eyes.

His fingers tightened slightly on her hips, and it was all the warning that she had before he adjusted the angle of his head, and then his lips fell down upon hers. It wasn't a crashing motion, nor a light attempt at a first kiss. This kiss was full of a bittersweet longing that culminated from seven years of longing and regret. It was filled with more passion that she ever would have thought possible, catching her off guard and making her knees wobble slightly.

He was the one to pull away, opening his eyes immediately to make sure she was still there. "God, I can't believe it's you."

Katherine nodded, leaning into his hand as he brought it up to wipe her tears away softly. "I'm here," she assured him. "And if it's okay with you, I think I'll stick around for a while."

He looked steadily back into her eyes, feeling Carmine trying to worm his way between the two of them to get their attention. "Well ... I'm sure Carmine would love having you back," he joked half-heartedly. "Maybe there will finally be someone around to walk him."

Katherine rolled her eyes. "Oh, I think you can get off your butt and take him for a walk once in a while. I wouldn't want to have to petition the courts for sole custody."

He slid his hand downwards, capturing it in his firm hold, but not too tightly. "I don't think that will be necessary. You hungry?"

She bobbed her head up and down in response, enjoying the feeling of his hand covering hers. "I'm starving. Plane food sucks."

Christopher Chance smiled in understanding, turning his slightly to yell at his boss/partner. "Ilsa, I'm taking the day off. Tell Winston ... Carmine's mom is back in town. Tell him all bets are off," he called back to her, before leading Katherine out of the office and back into the world, vowing to never let her out of his sight again.

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_The end. _

_Well, what did you guys think of that one? Like it, hate it? _

_Reviews are appreciated, flame if you must, but constructive criticism is much more useful. _

_Until next time ...! _


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